This is why it happens.
Who would have imagined that the dictionary, of all places, would have the remedy after decades of battle with procrastination?
Avoid putting off things. So simple, but so gorgeous. While we're about it, let's ensure that overweight individuals don't overeat, unhappy people don't become apathetic, and someone please remind beached whales that they should stay in the water.
I certainly go on Facebook a couple of times a day at work—I'm such a procrastinator! No, "prevent procrastination" is just sound advice for pretend procrastinators. A serious procrastinator could hear the same individuals telling them, "Just don't procrastinate and you'll be OK."
Actual procrastinators are unable to avoid procrastinating; this is something that neither the dictionary nor imitators of real procrastinators recognize.
In college, the sudden, unrestricted personal independence was disastrous for me since I never achieved anything. I sometimes had to turn in papers, but it was the only exception. I used to do them the night before until I found I could finish them throughout the night. I continued doing this until I discovered I could begin them the morning of the due date. When I put off starting to write my 90-page senior thesis until 72 hours before it was due, this behavior reached cartoonish levels. I eventually ended myself at the school doctor's office where I discovered that low blood sugar was the cause of my hands becoming numb and curling up against my will. (I did submit the thesis, but it wasn't very good.)
Even this post took longer than it ought to have. I wasted a lot of time doing things like; opening this picture from a previous post that was sitting on my desktop, wondering who would prevail between a lion and a tiger, and then researching that for a while on Google (the tiger would win). I'm having issues.
How else would you explain a person who struggles for two weeks to write a paper's introduction suddenly being able to stay up all night, despite being exhausted, and produce eight pages? Other than having a Panic Monster meltdown over being less handsome, why else would a very lethargic person start a severe training regimen? And these are the fortunate procrastinators; others don't even react to the Panic Monster, and in their most desperate times, they end up climbing the tree with the monkey and going into a state of self-destructive shutdown.
The truth is that the Instant Gratification Monkey is the last creature that should be in charge of making choices since he only considers the here and now, neglecting the past and future and focusing only on increasing the comfort and pleasure of the now. He doesn't comprehend the Rational Decision-Maker any more than the Rational Decision-Maker comprehends him. He questions why we should keep going when we might stop and feel better. We don't like practicing the instrument, so why would we do it? When the internet is there and just ready to be used for entertainment, why would anybody ever use a computer for work? He believes that people are crazy.
If you eat when you're hungry, sleep when you're weary, and avoid doing anything tough, you're a very successful monkey in the world of the monkeys, according to him. The procrastinator's issue is that the Instant Gratification Monkey is a very inexperienced navigator. The Rational Decision-Maker who was trained to make rational decisions rather than to deal with competition over the controls is unable to effectively defend himself. He just feels worse and worse about himself the more failures he experiences and the more criticism he receives from the suffering procrastinator whose head he is in.
There is a mess. The procrastinator finds himself spending a lot of time at a location known as the Dark Playground while the monkey is in control.
Every procrastinator is familiar with the Dark Playground. It is a location where recreational activities take place at times when they are not meant to. Your enjoyment of the Dark Playground is entirely unjustified, and the atmosphere is one of guilt, worry, self-hatred, and dread. The Instant Gratification Monkey isn't going to let you work, but sometimes the Rational Decision-Maker puts his foot down and won't let you spend time performing typical leisure activities. As a result, you find yourself in a surreal limbo of unusual activities where everyone loses.
This is not a healthy way to live. Something has to change, even for the procrastinator who finally succeeds in completing their tasks and continues to function well in society. The primary explanations are as follows:
1) It's uncomfortable. The procrastinator wastes much too much time working in the Dark Playground when, if things had been done on a more reasonable timetable, that time might have been spent enjoying fulfilling, well-earned leisure. And nobody enjoys feeling panicked.
2) In the end, the procrastinator undersells himself. He underperforms and falls short of his potential, which over time consumes him and causes him to feel guilty and regretful.
3) The Want-To-Dos may not happen, but the Have-To-Dos might. The other things in life that are important to the procrastinator are getting in shape, cooking elaborate meals, learning to play the guitar, writing a book, reading, or even making a bold career switch—never happen because the Panic Monster doesn't typically get involved with those things. This is true even if the procrastinator has the type of career where the Panic Monster is frequently present and he can be fulfilled at work. These types of tasks broaden our horizons, enrich our lives, and provide us with a great deal of satisfaction, yet most procrastinators fall short of the mark.
Taking a serious stand and not letting your gratification take control of your activities is the easiest way out. Procrastination is very real and can destroy you if you allow it to grow. Have a great day.
